Fort Aguada and its lighthouse
is a well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese
standing in Goa, India
, on Sinquerim beach, overlooking the vast expanses of Arabian Sea.
Origins and history
The fort was constructed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch
and the Marathas
. It was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe
at that time. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi river. It was initially tasked with defense of shipping and the nearby Bardez
A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water. Crews of passing ships would often visit to replenish their fresh water stores. On the fort stands a four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons, a moat around the fort also protected it.
Fort Aguada was the most prized and crucial fort of Portuguese. The fort is so large that it envelops the entire peninsula at the south western tip of Bardez. Built on the mouth of river Mandovi, it was strategically located and was the chief defence of Portuguese against the Dutch
During the Salazar
Administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily, some claim, for Salazar's political opponents. Many of its inmates are Western tourists serving time for drug-related crimes.